Saudi Arabia – Saudi Foreign Minister Prince Faisal bin Farhan discussed, on Sunday evening, with his American counterpart, Anthony Blinken, efforts to end the ongoing Israeli war on the Gaza Strip, which has entered its 11th month.
This came during a phone call received by Prince bin Farhan from Blinken, according to a statement by the Saudi Foreign Ministry.
During the phone call, the two sides discussed “developments in the region, efforts to end the war on the Gaza Strip, and developments in Sudan and Yemen.”
Earlier on Sunday, Blinken arrived in Israel, on a visit that comes as part of efforts to push for a prisoner exchange deal and a ceasefire in Gaza, according to the private newspaper Yedioth Ahronoth.
On Friday evening, the Israeli negotiating delegation headed by Mossad chief David Barnea returned to Tel Aviv, while a lower-level working delegation remained in Qatar, according to the private Hebrew Channel (12).
As planned, the Israeli working delegation will leave for Cairo on Sunday for further talks.
According to Channel 12, the United States hopes to hold another meeting at the end of next week to put the final touches on the details of the agreement.
The mediators announced on Friday evening that the United States had presented a new proposal to reduce the gaps between Israel and the Palestinian factions movement, according to a joint Egyptian-Qatari-American statement at the conclusion of the second and final day of the Doha round of talks.
Washington hopes that an agreement between the factions movement and Israel to stop the war and exchange prisoners will help dissuade Iran and the Lebanese factions from responding to the assassination of Haniyeh and Shukr.
On July 2, the mediators presented the factions with the framework terms for an agreement, based on an Israeli proposal presented by Biden at the end of last May.
These items include a comprehensive cessation of war, a complete Israeli withdrawal from the Gaza Strip, breaking the siege, reopening the crossings, rebuilding the Strip, and exchanging prisoners.
But Israel refuses to end the war, continues to commit massacres and sets new conditions, especially remaining in the Philadelphi Corridor and the Netzarim Corridor in the middle of the Gaza Strip.
With American support, Israel’s war on Gaza since October 7, 2023 has resulted in about 133,000 Palestinian deaths and injuries, most of them children and women, and more than 10,000 missing, amid massive destruction and deadly famine.
Anatolia
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2024-08-20 20:39:48
